TAMING THE TIGER WITHIN
Meditations on Transforming
Difficult Emotions
By: Thich Nhat Hanh
TOPICS
II. No Birth, No Death: From Fear to Love
1. Fear and Time
2. Finding Refuge, Knowing Freedom
3. The Love That Springs from Insight
1. Fear and Time
As long as fear is still in you,
Your happiness cannot be perfect.
“Fear Still in You”
8/21/13
We cannot enjoy life if we spend a lot of
time worrying about what happened
yesterday and what will happen
tomorrow. We worry about tomorrow
because we are afraid. If we are afraid all
the time, we cannot appreciate that we
are alive and can be happy now.
“Be Happy Now”
8/23/13
When you are carried away with your
worries, fears, cravings, anger, and
desire, you run away from yourself and
you lose yourself.
“Carried Away”
8/27/13
Live your daily life in a way that you never
lose yourself.
“Never Lose Yourself’
8/29/13
We wait for the magical moment---sometime in the future----when
everything will be as we want it to be.
9/3/13
“Magical Moment”
Life is available only in the present
moment.
“In the Present”
9/5/13
Please take a pen and a sheet of paper. Go to
the foot of a tree or to your writing desk,
and make a list of all the things that can
make you happy right now: the clouds in
the sky, the flowers in the garden the
children playing, the fact that you have met
the practice of mindfulness, your beloved
ones sitting in the next room, you two eyes
in good condition. The list is endless. You
have enough already to be happy now. You
have enough to no longer be agitated by
fear or anger.
9/9/13
“Make a List”
A child is always able to live
In the present moment.
9/11/13
“In the Present Moment”
The child in us is always alive.
9/13/13
“Always Alive”
Maybe we have not had enough time
To take care of the child within us.
9/17/13
“The Child Within Us”
When we live in the present moment,
It is possible to live in true happiness.
9/19/13
“True Happiness”
If you can breathe in and out and walk in the spirit
of “I have arrived, I am home, in the here, in the
now,” then you will notice that you are
becoming more solid and more free
immediately. You have established yourself in
the present moment, at your true address.
Nothing can push you to run anymore, or make
you so afraid. You are free from worrying about
the past. You are not stuck, thinking about what
has not happened yet and what you cannot
control. You are free from guilt concerning the
past, and you are free from your worries about
the future.
9/23/13
“You are free”
With mindfulness, you can recognize what is
there in the present moment, including the
person you love. When you can tell you r
beloved, “Darling, I know you are there,
and I am very happy,” it proves that you are
a free person. It proves that you have
mindfulness, you have the capacity to
cherish, to appreciate what is happening in
the present moment. You are still alive, and
the person you love is still there, alive, in
front of you.
9/25/13
“The Person You Love”
The circumstances of our lives can help us
water the seeds of patience, generosity,
compassion, and love. The people
around us can help us water these seeds,
and so can the practice of mindfulness.
10/2/13
“Circumstances”
Please remember that your notions of
happiness can only be possible in the here
and now. So go back and examine deeply
your notions and ideas of happiness. You
may recognize that the conditions of
happiness that are already there in your life
are enough. Then happiness can be
instantly yours.
10/4/13
“Please Remember”
2. Finding Refuge, Knowing
Freedom
No fear is the ultimate joy. When you have
the insight of no fear, you are free
10/8/13
“Ultimate Joy”
We are taught that there is no birth, there is
no death; there is no coming, there is no
going; there is no same, there is no
different; there is no permanent self,
there is no annihilation.
10/10/13
“There is no……”
Our greatest fear is that when we die we
will become nothing.
10/14/13
“Our Greatest Fear”
People are very afraid of nothingness.
When they hear about emptiness, people
are also very afraid, but emptiness just
means the extinction of ideas. Emptiness
is not the opposite of existence. It is not
nothingness or annihilation. The idea of
existence has to be removed, and so does
the idea of nonexistence.
10/16/13
“Nothingness”
When you practice looking deeply, you see
your true nature of no birth, no death; no
being, no nonbeing; no coming , no
going; no same, no different. When you
see this, you are free from fear. You are
free from craving and free from jealousy.
10/18/13
“You Are Free”
(Your True Nature)
To really be free of fear, we must look
deeply into the ultimate dimension of no
birth, no death. We need to free
ourselves from these ideas that we are
our body, and that we die. This is where
we will discover the place of no fear.
10/24/13
“To Really be Free”
When we understand that we cannot be
destroyed, we are liberated from fear.
10/28/13
“We Cannot Be Destroyed”
If we are able to touch our ground of not
birth and no death, we will have no fear.
That is the base of our true happiness.
10/30/13
“Base of Our True Happiness”
To meditate means to be invited on a
journey of looking deeply in order to
touch our true nature and to recognize
that nothing is lost.
11/1/13
“On a Journey”
We can overcome fear. Nonfear is the
greatest gift of meditation. With it we
can overcome our grief and our sorrow.
11/4/13
“Overcome Fear”
If you have lost someone and if you have
cried so very much, please accept this
invitation. Look deeply and recognize
that the nature of your beloved is the
nature of no birth, no death; no coming,
no going.
11/6/13
“Please Accept”
It is only because of our misunderstanding
that we think the person we love no
longer exists after they “pass away.”
This is because we are attached to one of
the forms, one of the many
manifestations of that person. The
person we love is still there. He is
around us, within us, and smiling at us.
11/8/13
“Misunderstanding”
What is the home of a wave? The home of
the wave is all the other waves, and the
home of the wave is water. If the wave is
capable of touching himself and the
other waves very deeply, he will realize
that he is made of water. Being aware
that he is water, he transcends all
discrimination, sorrows, and fears.
11/12/13
“Home of a Wave”
A person who does not have anything to
believe in is without energy. When you
have the energy of faith in you, your
steps become firmer, your look becomes
brighter. You are ready to love, to
understand, to help, and to work.
11/14/13
“Energy”
There are those who are so discouraged
that they no longer have the courage to
love. They suffer a great deal just
because they made an attempt to love
and failed. The wounds within them are
so deep that it makes them afraid to try
again. We are aware of the presence of
these people among us, all around us.
We have to bring them the message that
love is possible. Our world desperately
needs love.
11/20/13
“Desperately Needs Love”
Faith is the outcome of your life. As faith
continues to grow, you continue to get
the energy, because faith is also an
energy like love. If we look deeply into
the nature of our love, we will also see
our faith. When we have faith in us, we
are no longer afraid of anything.
11/22/13
“Outcome of Your Life”
• When you have faith, you have a lot of
energy. When you believe in something
really good, pure, and beautiful, you are
very alive.
11/18/2013
“Very Alive”
If there is a distinction between true love
and the kind of love that can only
engender suffering and despair, the same
can be said of faith. There is a kind of
faith that sustains us and continues to
give us strength and joy. Then there is
the kind of faith that may disappear one
morning or one evening and leave us
completely lonely and lost.
Lonely and Lost
11/26/13
To meditate means to be invited on a
journey of looking deeply in order to
touch our true nature and to recognize
that nothing is lost.
12/3/13
“Nothing is Lost”
The amount of happiness that you have
depends on the amount of freedom that
you have in your heart.
12/5/13
“Amount of Happiness”
The greatest freedoms are freedom from
regret, freedom from fear, freedom from
anxiety, and freedom from sorrow.
12/9/13
“Freedom From…”
Only a free person can be a happy person.
12/11/13
“A Free Person”
3. The Love That Springs
from Insight
The practice of mindfulness leads to
concentration and insight. Insight is the
fruit of the practice, which can help us to
forgive, to love. In a period of fifteen
minutes, or half an hour, the practice of
mindfulness, concentration, and insight
can liberate you from your anger and
turn you into a loving person. That is the
strength of enlightenment, the miracle of
enlightenment.
12/13/13
“Concentration and Insight”
A real love letter is made of insight,
understanding, and compassion.
Otherwise it is not love letter.
12/16/13
“A Real Love Letter”
A true love letter can produce a
transformation in the other person, and
therefore in the world. But before it
produces a transformation in the other
person, it has to produce a
transformation within you. The time you
take to write the letter may be your
whole life.
12/17/13
“Transformation”
Patience is the mark of true love. A father
has to be patient in order to show his
love for his son or daughter. A mother, a
son, and daughter also. If you want to
love, you must learn to be patient. If you
are not patient, you cannot help the other
person.
12/19/13
“Patience”
Understanding is the ground of love.
1/8/2014
“Understanding”
If a father and son do not understand each
other, they will make each other suffer.
So understanding is the key that unlocks
the door to love.
1/10/2014
“The Key That Unlocks”
If understanding is not there, no matter
how hard you try, you cannot love. If
you say, “I have to try to love him,” this
is nonsense. You have to understand
him, and through understanding, you
will be able to love him.
1/14/2014
“Nonsense”
If we live with the understanding of
impermanence, we will cultivate and
nurture our love. Only then will it last.
1/16/2014
“Then Will it Last”
All the suffering of living beings is our
own suffering. We have to see that we
are they and they are us. When we see
their suffering, an arrow of compassion
and love enters our hearts. We can love
them, embrace them, and find a way to
help. Only then will we not be
overwhelmed by despair at their
situation. Or our own.
“Our Own Sufferings”
1/21/14
Unless you know how to love your
neighbor, you cannot love the almighty.
Before placing an offering on the altar of
the almighty, you have to reconcile with
your neighbor, because reconciling with
your neighbor is to reconcile with the
almighty. You can only touch the
almighty through his creatures; you will
not understand what is true love, the love
of the almighty, unless you practice the
love of humanity.
“What True Love is”
1/23/14
Love relieves suffering.
“Love Relieves”
1/27/14
Allow yourself to be a torch, and allow the
flame of your torch to be transmitted to
other torches. Practicing like that, you
can help peace and joy grow in the entire
world.
“Allow Yourself”
1/31/14
This is the practice. When you become
mindful, understanding, and loving, you
suffer much less, you begin to feel
happy, and the people around you begin
to profit from your being there.
“Being There”
2/4/14
When you are mindful, you realize that
the other person suffers. You see her
suffering, and suddenly you don’t want
her to suffer anymore.
“Realize”
2/6/14
If you touch suffering deeply in yourself
and in the other person, understanding
will arise. When understanding arises,
love and acceptance will also arise, and
this will bring the suffering to an end.
“Arise”
2/10/14
When you are motivated by the desire to
transcend suffering, to get out of a
difficult situation, and to help others to
do the same, you become a powerful
source of energy that helps you to do
what you want to do to transform
yourself and to help other people.
“A Powerful Source of Energy”
2/19/14
True love is made of understanding---understanding the other person, the
object of your love; understanding their
suffering, their difficulties, and their true
aspiration. Out of understanding there
will be kindness, there will be
compassion, there will be an offering of
joy.
“True Love”
2/21/14
If respect for the other person is no longer
there, true love cannot continue for long.
“Cannot Continue”
2/25/14
True love is a love without possessiveness.
You love and still you are free, and the
other person is also free. The kind of
love that has no joy is not true love. If
both parties cry every day, then that’s not
true love. There must be joy and
freedom and understanding in love.
“True Love Is…”
2/27/14
If mindfulness is cultivated in our daily
life, if concentration and insight are
cultivated in our daily life, we become
more open, more tolerant, and our love
grows stronger within us.
“Love Grows Stronger”
3/3/14
Reality cannot be described in terms of being
and nonbeing. Being and nonbeing are
notions created by you, exactly like the notions
of birth and death, coming and going. If your
beloved one can no longer be seen, it does not
mean that from being she has become
nonbeing. If you realize this truth about your
beloved, you will suffer much less, and if you
realize this truth about yourself, you will
transcend your fear of dying, of nonbeing.
“Reality”
3/5/14